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In High Alignment with Kerry Walsh
In High Alignment with Kerry Walsh
Ep.9- The 2 Questions I Ask Myself When Creating Any Offer
Welcome to the celebratory launch of season two of the In High Alignment podcast, coinciding with my, Kerry Walsh's, 32nd trip around the sun! Reflecting on the past year, we embark on a deeper quest to live in alignment with what truly matters to us—our core values. This season, prepare to engage with not just my own musings but also the perspectives of daring creatives and brave souls who've walked the path less traveled. With a new, consistent schedule, every other Tuesday becomes a day of empowerment and connection. And for those seeking a closer-knit community, I'm thrilled to introduce the Alignment Club, our new Substack space brimming with weekly inspiration and the opportunity for genuine interaction.
Turning the microphone on myself, I open up about the transformative power of podcasting as a means to forge a lasting legacy. Behind every voice is a story, and I share why I took the plunge into this world, driven by an intrinsic need to create content that is both authentic and resonant. We'll explore how embracing our individual journeys can lead to personal growth and how therapy has played a role in redefining my views on legacy—shifting from a relentless pursuit to a celebration of life itself. Join us for a series of episodes that promise to uplift, challenge, and hopefully, grant you the permission to be unequivocally you. Let's move forward together, aligning our lives with who we are, and sowing the seeds for a legacy that truly matters.
Article cited in the episode: 2024 Podcast Statistics and projections
Link to join on Substack: https://kerryannewalsh.substack.com/inhighalignment
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Every time I go to start writing, a rush of anxiety rolls through me. It feels big and prickly and like there's a lot of weight to this thing I'm about to create. When I was younger it was writing papers for school and then writing for blogs for my photography business and now writing podcast scripts for the show. And I know part of it has to do with how long it feels like it takes me. It feels like a really big undertaking to write these eight to 12 page scripts, depending on the subject and the length of the episode. It can be overwhelming for my brain. That likes her bite size treats. But underneath that I know part of it is also because I yearn to be understood, to have the right words to express the message I'm trying to convey.
Speaker 1:Taking up airtime has always felt really sacred to me. I think that's because it is On every stage, floor, room or for my group, people vote that I've stepped into. When I'm gifted with someone's attention, it's this ancient agreement and exchange of energy we enter into. It's a noticing, a presence, a way of saying what you have to say matters. And I'm listening the other side of the airwaves listening, telling me that what I have to say matters. I let that big breath go. Welcome, my friend.
Speaker 1:Welcome to season two of the In High Alignment podcast with me, carrie Walsh. We made it so as a refresher. This is the In High Alignment podcast, a podcast where we connect with rebellious creatives and courageous guests who are forging a path towards living in alignment with their core values. I'm your host, carrie Walsh, and in today's episode we will set the stage for what to expect as we move into season two. And then the core of today's episode the two big questions I consider when creating any offer. I know that winter is a big time that people reevaluate and see if there's something they want to add or bring in in the next season of you know, if you're a wedding photographer, or the wedding season or just your next year. Winter is such a good time to really reflect and see what it is that we want to bring into the new year or kind of just allow to come to life as we move into spring and so much of the world wakes back up. So yay, in season two, the first actually consistent, honest, schedule, moving and grooving season since the podcast launch last year on my 31st birthday. It's only appropriate that this season begins today on my 32nd birthday.
Speaker 1:The goal last year with the podcast was just to get something out there to prove to myself that I could do it, to see if podcasting was a medium I actually enjoyed and see how the desire to create episodes held after time between them. It's been about six months since the last episode came out and clearly, with the launch of season two, the desire to be here is deep and my love for this medium is ever present. For season two, we have a lineup of stellar guest interviews in the queue, a massive solo list of episodes just aching to be created, and we have you, an integral part of this powerful community of listeners. So in season two you can expect new episodes every other Tuesday consistently. They'll follow a cadence of one solo episode, one guest episode a month and will grow from there. I'm starting with this small, manageable goal while the ball gets rolling and we'll see how it grows from there, but for now I really am excited to just be in your listening years every other week. Thank you for being here.
Speaker 1:Also, with the kickoff of season two, I'm launching a new way to stay connected A brand spanking new membership lovingly named the Alignment Club. The Alignment Club will be hosted on Substack, a light and breezy social platform I've been absolutely loving over the last year and I really think that you're going to love it there too. We'll start with just two tiers of support. The first paid level is just $5 and I'm calling it the keep going carry level that you can sign up and just use as a way to shower me with love and encouragement, fuel my tea obsession and help keep the quote unquote lights on around here. The next tier is $20 a month and, because the way that Substack is set up, you'll have to enter that amount in the upgrade to paid box. But this level will include weekly posts beginning mid-March, where I drop bite size, easy to implement nuggets of support.
Speaker 1:There will be a lot of lifestyle and personal support type things, so not exclusive to creative entrepreneurs, but very much aimed at taking care of you, the human being running around the planet living your best biz owner life. So any human who is aching for a bit of inspo, these mindset shifts, free frames, virtual hugs, is invited to sign up. And the really cool part of this is that there's a community aspect so you can leave comments on any post. We can have more of like a back and forth dialogue there, where it's not just like I'm putting this out there, like we can actually chat there and you can see what other people are feeling and basically know that you're not alone in whatever it is that you're going through, and that's going to be like a really awesome, just direct way to connect with me and for me to connect with you. You can also always do a seven day free trial to see if it's just before committing to any kind of monthly payment.
Speaker 1:And if you subscribe to the alignment club anytime now through the end of March my birthday month while we're building things up over on sub stack, you will get 25% off for the entire first year of your membership with code in high alignment, as in the name of the podcast in all caps. You can also cancel literally anytime you want. You don't have to stay for the whole year just because you signed up. The other thing is like this code is automatically going to be added. You don't have to add it yourself, it's just going to be on there for anybody who signs up now through the end of March, so April 1st it'll expire. So the link to join me on sub stack at either the keep going. Carry or the alignment club level is in the show notes and will be in my Instagram bio.
Speaker 1:If show notes confuse you, they confuse me too. Sometimes you are not alone. As a quick guide, if you want to try out the show notes way so long as you're not listening while you're driving, all you have to do is click the episode that you're listening to and then the show notes are actually on that individual episode page. Sometimes it's easier to go to the in high alignment show page, click on the episode that you're listening to and scroll down to see the show notes. That's where all these like links and show notes and stuff like that. That's where they live. As I said, I'll also include the sub stack link in my at carry on coaching Instagram bio just to like keep it really easy for us and friends and family. If you have my number and you know that you want to support, shoot me a text and also do the link directly.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now that season two logistics, that every other week cadence, one solo, one guest episode and the alignment club levels of support on sub stack have been shared, which I'm so excited for, let's dive into the episode, the two questions I ask myself when creating any offer. When I'm creating anything, especially a new offer like the alignment club or the podcast, I ask myself these two questions. Number one does it check the CNeed Philanied box? If you don't know what CNeed Philanied comes from, it is the motto in robots, which is a really cute sci fi adventure animated movie about a young robot, rodney Copperbottom, who's inspired by his idols motto to see a need, fill a need and become an inventor, constantly looking for needs in his life or his family's life, then creating a new invention, a new invention to fill that need. Highly recommend super quick 90 minute watch. You can put it on in the background. I think it's like it's actually not Disney, so you have to find it on HBO or some other streaming platform, but I was surprised to realize that it wasn't Disney, but it's still great.
Speaker 1:And number two what is your legacy? Creating from a foundation of these questions will allow your offer to balance both the practical side of is this something the world needs? And then the humanism side of why does this matter? But also, more specifically, why does this matter to me? Because, of course, we want there to be a need and a market for our creation, especially if we intend on making a living by our creations, and we need to know our why behind it, because when push comes to shove and shit gets hard, which always happens in entrepreneurship, our why will keep us going, our why will be our true north, guiding us, helping us and continuing to move us towards our mission day after day. Alright, to paint a really clear picture of how I go through this process, let's use the podcast as a case study.
Speaker 1:Before I even really thought about creating a podcast, I had numerous people from every different area of my life asking if I had any voice acting experience, or if I was a yoga instructor or a meditation instructor, and the answer to all of these questions was no. And a lot of my coaching clients would ask me to recall something I said in our lessons or if I'd consider making a podcast, because something I said on our calls was framed differently and the way they'd heard it before. This got the wheels turning. But I also knew that the timing had to be right. I didn't want to make the quick decision to say yes and bite off more than I could chew Something that I have done loads of times in my life, throughout my life, especially when I started building a public brand for my photography business, I always had a deep, deep love for writing and storytelling. Anytime I'd share personal or client stories of course with permission on social media, I'd get messages about how my voice even my writing voice was soothing for people. It resonated, it landed, it made people feel seen in a way that they hadn't been before.
Speaker 1:Beyond personal and audience desire to create the podcast, though, I wanted to make sure I was setting myself up for success by also doing market research and gathering data. Is there a real need for this? According to podcast index and I will link this in the show notes there are currently 504.9 million podcast listeners globally, which is about 9.5, almost 10% of internet users, and almost 50% of those listeners 45.2 to be exact are in North America and another 31% are in Western Europe. So this is essentially where most of my audience lives.
Speaker 1:Podcasts are one of the few growing long-form content platforms in a world of increasingly shorter short-form content of social media, which means podcasting is one of the few avenues that gives listeners time to build trust in a solid understanding of who the podcaster and creator is, who I am. From a marketing perspective, we need about seven hours with a creator before considering buying from them, and it's a lot easier from a consumer end to a marketing perspective to build those relationships with long-form cumulative time than short-form social media time. Of course, every avenue and platform has different uses, but as someone looking to grow connections outside of strictly social media Instagram, tiktok, facebook, etc podcasting was looking more and more enticing to me. Podcasting is the new radio of choice. 79% of listeners in the US listen to a podcast on their smartphone and 22% are listening while driving turmeric March Tour. The top two streaming performers, as you can probably predict, are Spotify, at 33.7% share in the podcast streaming arena, and Apple, which holds 27.6% of the market share in the podcast streaming arena. So I knew it would be absolutely necessary to be on both of those platforms.
Speaker 1:As per the Infinite Dial Report, 50% of people between the ages of 12 to 34 listen to podcasts every month. Again, that's right in the sweet spot of where most of my coaching clients float, some more towards 40-ish, but also all are welcome. I've had older clients as well who are out here in their second career, absolutely killing it, and I love working with them as well. 72% of people say that they are very attentive while listening to a podcast. Amazing, cool. It goes down to 64% when watching TV and then 56% when streaming music. So it's the most attentive kind of listening that we do, interesting. And then people consider podcasts host 86% more trustworthy and 89% more authentic than other creators.
Speaker 1:Again, nodding back to that cumulative time that we spend together while in the shared audio space to actually build a relationship. So it's a really big deal and a big responsibility that I hold the utmost honor that we have this shared time to just build trust. So that, like I was saying the very beginning, it's so important to me that if you're going to give me your time, I need to have everything I'm going to be saying well thought out, have a lot of clarity, have done the research and not just throw something on it, record and ramble. It's not my style. I know it's a lot of people's style, but it's just it doesn't work for me and what I want to be doing. Again, that's why there's all kinds of kinds. Again, you know what you're going to get here. So there's both the personal experience and the market research to back up the identified need for a podcast. So you need check as the space to begin a podcast started to open up in my schedule.
Speaker 1:I knew I could lean on my eight years as a coxswain on my high school and college rolling teams to really lead the way in terms of how I would shape my voice. Every practice, every race, every time I went back to guest coach the team, I had another example of the intimate relationship between voice, inflection, pacing and the physical response it could bring forward in all of us and I thought, well, okay, let's give this podcast thing a whirl. Podcasting made sense for me as a next step. This podcast was yours in the making. It was not a quick decision and obviously it's something that I've pondered over the last year if this is something that I want to keep doing or not, if this is something that is going to be the next avenue that I really put everything into and obviously it is. This podcast is yours in the making in terms of known personal conversations coupled with podcasting still being a growing medium, a way to deeply connect with people in a long form way that isn't visually based.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I was so tired of the performance and looks driven content of Instagram by the time I started this podcast. I wanted to be valued for my voice and knowledge and the wisdom my guests could share. Not because I'm conventionally pretty which performs well on such visual platforms as Instagram and other video platforms. Someday I will share about the time I was called a distracting shiny object during a meeting in my old, toxic corporate job. So fill a need. Here we go. Check, yeah, it's got it. See the need, fill the need. We can do this with a podcast.
Speaker 1:After checking the See you Need, fill a Need boxes, I asked these core value driven sub-questions. One does this bring me joy? Two, does this feel flowy and fun to produce? Three, does this bring me energy? If, and only if, all of these answers are resounding, yes, I move to big question number two, and obviously for me, these are all absolutely a resounding. Yes, I love using my voice again, like I did on my coxing days. I love connecting with creatives as guests and amplifying guests areas of expertise. Every guest is vetted and proven to be high quality humans who are also really great at the things they're sharing. But the top requirement for me in order for you to be a guest on my podcast is that you are a high quality human. There's enough snake oil sales people on the internet who don't need to get more airtime and they will not get airtime here. And as much as I get jittery before sitting down to write out a podcast script, it still brings me so much energy as soon as I get the ball rolling and don't even get me started on the energy it brings me to connect with some of my stellar guests and with you, our community and the DMs, and soon to be in the sub-stack community. That's why I'm bringing in sub-stacks so that we can have more places of connection. So we've seen the need, we've filled the need, confirmed joy, flow and fun and energy, giving production Time to move on to big question number two what is your legacy?
Speaker 1:Let's start with the definition of legacy by Oxford's dictionary as it applies here Legacy is the long-lasting impact of a person's life. So, expanding on legacy, I ask how is this offer going to make and sustain an impact after I'm gone or after it's closed? What's the big dream of how this will make a difference in people's lives in the world? What's the potential ripple effect? How do I hope this benefits others? What makes this worth my precious time? What makes it worth my listener's time In a very real way, in a very deep way. What's the point of this offer? What's the purpose, what's my purpose in relation to all of this? Now, my relationship with this question has changed over time.
Speaker 1:If you listen back to episode one, I've taken the idea of creating my legacy to an extreme before. It was a big part of therapy for me over the last six months which I mentioned in the last episode of season one that I started with a new therapist and can confirm she is stellar and I feel worlds better since working with her. If you are able to get mental health support, please, please, do. In creating my new job in the direction of my work here with the podcast, I didn't want to push myself to the extreme that I did in my wedding photography business, so my therapist walked me through the idea that when the life pendulum swings all the way to one side because of a near-death experience, there's almost always an equally extreme swing the other way, and there's a lot of ways that people cope with this feeling of having a second chance at life.
Speaker 1:For me, it looked like needing to go all in on life, since it was almost taken from me. I had to prove my gratitude for this one wild and precious life that I was gifted. I had to. I had to prove that it was all worth something, first by speaking for organizations who supported my family while I was sick. Then by closing five, six and seven figure gifts for the hospital and cancer center that I worked for, and then by creating and documenting family heirloom worthy images for my wedding clients.
Speaker 1:And at this point, over the last 20 years, I feel like I've paid back my dues, so to say, and can have a more loving, grounded, graceful approach to this question of legacy. It feels like a looser, steady motivator now, instead of the hang on for your life and hope you don't fly off kind of driver. Now, that motivator, that voice, it sounds like my love, you matter and you count already, exactly as you are, you have done enough. Let's do something, because you have endless potential and so much inside of you waiting to be shared. Whereas it used to sound like holy shit, you lived. Therefore, you have to take full advantage of every moment and everything you do in order to pay it forward, because people helped you and so you have to help the next people. It took time. It took time and layers of unburdening that guilt and months of proving that we can and will and do work differently now, and forgiveness For pushing so crazy hard to get here for so many years, but we made it. We made it.
Speaker 1:So as I thought about this podcast and my legacy and went through this process again as I designed season two, I concluded that if all I have to do is positively impact one person, give them permission to be more fully themselves. That's the legacy that I can live with. That's the legacy I want to leave behind. If somehow, this podcast allows you, guides you, invites you into a space where you can be fully yourself as you are now not after you've done X or after you've changed Y, but today that's the greatest long lasting impact of my life that I could hope for. All I want to do with this podcast is make alignment more tangible for people. I want you to know, I want you to know what it feels like in your body, in your heart, to be in alignment and know what it feels like to be out of alignment, so that you can notice and make change back towards alignment when that happens. Because when you're in alignment, when you are in your highest alignment, you're feeling like the best, most alive, most magnetic version of you, and I believe you deserve to feel that way more days than not in your life. So, yes, this is my hard work, this is my soul work, helping you be more you.
Speaker 1:I intentionally chose the podcast platform so that you can listen to episodes again and again as much as you need to, whenever you need to hear the message or reminder of a specific episode, just one more time, so that the message that clicked because you finally heard it said in a way that made sense to you. I want you to have repeatable access to that. I want more people to have access to those moments that click. I need more people to have access, not because I'm extra special or whatever. Yes, yes, trust me, I know I'm great, but not the point. I need more people to have access to these messages because I personally know I could hear the same thing in different stages or moments of my life from different voices and it not make sense until I hear it from the right person, said just the right way, and then it clicks for my brain and, yes, maybe someday the stars line and we get to work together. I have the dreamiest, most inspiring clients and I am so, so lucky to work with each and every one of them. But even if we never work together, I want you to know, really know, what it's like to feel fully alive, to feel fully like yourself, to feel what it's like when you're in high alignment, because every single one of us deserves to feel what that feels like Every one of us. So if this podcast makes a difference to you, if this podcast helps you in any way, if this is helping you understand what alignment is, what it means, what it feels like for you, or even if it just starts to crack open the door of knowing what it might feel like versus not feel like, then the podcast checks the legacy box.
Speaker 1:For me to so, to recap, the two questions I asked myself when creating any offer are one does this follow the CNEED Philanied motto? And some questions If it does, are one does this bring me joy? Two, does this feel flowy and fun to produce? And three Does this bring me energy? And then number. And then big question number two is what is your legacy? Which is ultimately another way to ask what is your why, with a long term lens and really an invitation to dig into your greater purpose and contribution to the world by creating this offer.
Speaker 1:What's the whole point. If you're going to spend your precious time on this offer, what's the point? I'm just going to say thank you to my friends. Thank you for being here for season two. I know I said this in the last episode as well, but just yeah, thanks for sticking around with me. I'm really excited to step into season two and now have this steady cadence of every other Tuesday scheduled with you. Good things are coming, my friend. Good things, good things are still to come.
Speaker 1:If you're going to be on the podcast, then you can leave a rating and review on Spotify or Apple podcast for free 99. $0. That would be amazing. Or you can join either of the new sub stack membership levels they keep going carry level of $5 a month or the alignment club community for $20 a month. If you've been around for a while and remember the weekly reverie that's coming back to, that's going to live on sub stack as well. It's going to be free. It's my weekly newsletter and an audio version is going to be coming with that too. Pretty much the main reason that I'm moving it on to sub stack is so we can have that audio version too. So all the links in the show notes you're the bees knees with so much love, so so much love. Until next time, remember to stay in high alignment.